The socks don’t really take up a lot of space, but the soap does because the ‘bars’ are about 1.5 – 2 feet long. A year’s worth of socks and soap is 5 pairs of socks and 5 bars of soap. So, for a parish of 50 kids we need 250 bars of soap which is an additional 25 boxes to add to our already packed Land Cruiser.
For our trip to Zejele and Mbabala, parishes that are both larger than the usual 50 kids, we had a total of 59 boxes of soap. It was so much soap that Willy and John Joseph decided that they didn’t want to go pick up the soap and carry it up to the Carpenter’s Kids office on the third floor of MacKay House only to have to carry it back downstairs on Saturday morning when they loaded the rest of the supplies into the Land Cruiser. Fair enough, Sarah and I don't even like having to drag ourselves up those stairs let alone carry other stuff with us...
So, on Friday afternoon Willy and John Joseph took the Cruiser to the shop where Willy had purchased the soap and loaded it into the back of the Cruiser. When they got back to MacKay House, John Joseph started to bind the boxes together in groups of 8 using some twine so it could be loaded onto the top of the Cruiser easier.
At about 4:15pm, after most of the soap had been loaded on the top of the Cruiser and the rest had been packed under the benches in the back of the Cruiser, Callum, Sarah and I hopped into the Cruiser to go pick up Scott at the bus station. As we headed to the bus station, we could hear a loud banging noise coming from the roof of the Cruiser. We figured it was the roof rack hitting the top of the vehicle. After we’d picked up Scott and then dropped him and Sarah off at their compound, Callum and I headed back to MacKay House to talk to John Joseph and Willy about the roof rack (which is made out of aluminum and was bending under the weight of about 35 boxes of soap).
At MacKay House, Callum explained the situation to John Joseph and Willy and then the three of them got in to take the Cruiser on a drive around the block so John Joseph and Willy could hear the sound that the roof rack was making. After they got back, they both shook their heads and said that it was not good. We decided that we could just take the soap that we were able to fit under the benches of the Cruiser (enough for 2 bars per child) and then, as both Zejele and Mbabala are on the same road as some of our other parishes, take the rest of the soap when we were in the area again. Willy and John Joseph said that Callum and I shouldn’t worry about the soap and that they’d deal with unloading it on Saturday morning when they were loading the shoes, uniforms and school supplies.
So our 8:00am departure time on Saturday came and went with no sign of the Cruiser or any of our fellow staff members also going to Zejele and Mbabala (John, John Joseph, Willy and Noel) at Callum and my housing compound. Finally at about 8:35, we heard the low rumbling of the Cruiser’s engine as it came through the gate of the compound. We headed out to get into the vehicle and saw that the soap was no longer on the roof and that the shoes and uniforms had taken its place. As we got to the back door to climb into the Cruiser, we found the soap: it was in the back of the Cruiser (all 59 boxes!) along with the boxes of school supplies for both parishes. Willy and John Joseph had figured out a way to pack it all into the Cruiser. It made for a slightly cramped trip to our first parish of the day, but it ended up being worth it.
After picking up Sarah, whose eyes got very big when she saw how much stuff was in the back of the Cruiser, we headed off to Zejele and arrived at just after 10:00am. As usual, everyone was very gracious and welcoming and we were invited to have tea and chapati in the home of the Carpenter’s Kids Committee Chairman. As we walked from the church to the house, we could see that the rainfall this year has left a great deal to be desired. The leaves on the corn had started to brown and the sunflowers were drooping from lack of water. John informed us that there is no water source in the parish of Zejele. People have to walk or bicycle to another village to get water. That water is a murky brown color and as I used it to wash my hands, I tried to imagine drinking it.
After we’d finished our tea and chapati, we headed back to the church to distribute the uniforms, shoes, school supplies, socks and soap. When John announced that each child would be receiving 5 pairs of socks and 5 bars of soap the applause from everyone in the church was thunderous. It made me very glad that Willy and John Joseph had decided to pack all of the soap even though the ride up to Zejele was less than comfortable.
The distribution itself went very quickly as we all knew exactly what to do and had our own little assembly line going. After the distribution and the group photos of the kids, their parents/guardians and the parish committee, we were again invited to the Committee Chair’s home, for lunch this time.
After eating far more food than we should have - this is after we all put about 1/3 of the rice we were originally given back into a large bowl – we set off for Mbabala to do the second distribution of the day. It was significantly less crowded in the Cruiser on the way to Mbabala which made the ride more pleasant. We arrived in Mbabala to find everyone already assembled for the distribution and waiting for us. Once again I was struck by how excited everyone was when John told the kids that they’d be getting 5 pairs of socks and 5 bars of soap. John was very happy with our work today as we got the actual distribution of uniforms, supplies, socks, soap and shoes done in a very organized and efficient manner.
As Sarah and Willy got all of the kids to pose for group photos, Noel and Callum went about some important business: buying some chickens. Callum and Scott have their own mini ‘shamba’ (farm) up at the CAMS upper housing compound where Sarah and Scott live and where Scott and Callum keep some chickens and a rooster. So, Callum and Scott have decided that they want to try to stock their shamba by purchasing a chicken every weekend from one of the CK parishes. We’ll see how long they decide to keep this up...
As Noel went to see a man about a chicken, the rest of us were shown to the priest’s house for, you guessed it, lunch. Tanzanian hospitality is amazing for lack of a better word and so despite the fact that the crops didn’t appear to be doing well in Mbabala either, we were invited to a generous lunch with the parish priest. Noel made it back in plenty of time to join us and we all ate a second lunch of rice, greens and meat. After we’d finished, we went outside climb back into the Land Cruiser and met our newest traveling companions: two roosters and a hen. The two roosters made the trip home interesting as they attempted to fight with one another in the confines of the cardboard box they were in for most of the way home. It would be quiet for a few minutes and then there’d be a squawk a small cloud of dust/dirt would fly into the air, and the box would move. Good times.
We arrived back in Dodoma and inspected the damage to the roof rack. It’s seen better days. The aluminum version is obviously more of a decoration than anything else. We’ll need to get a new one as soon as possible as one of the parishes we’re visiting next week has 100 Carpenter’s Kids and we’ll need 50 boxes of soap for that parish alone. Stay tuned!
The Carpenter's Kids of Zejele
The Carpenter's Kids of Mbabala
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